


A city like New York

by Schnubbel166



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ash Lynx Lives, Family, Fluff, Future Fic, Gen, Homophobia, Kid Fic, M/M, Married Life, briefly mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-03
Updated: 2020-06-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:35:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24514717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schnubbel166/pseuds/Schnubbel166
Summary: Years have passed and Okumura Eiji and his husband Ash Lynx have settled down in Tokyo with their son Reese.
Relationships: Ash Lynx & Original Character(s), Ash Lynx/Okumura Eiji, Okumura Eiji & Original Character(s)
Comments: 33
Kudos: 212





	A city like New York

**Author's Note:**

> Hello :)
> 
> A week has passed since I ended Banana Fish and needless to say, I'm still in shock and honestly pained by the end. So, as a way to cope I started writing this little fluffy thing about an alternate ending and future for Asheiji. The story started out pretty self indulgent, but I am not the only one still suffering, so please, have this fluff to feel better. :D
> 
> I wanted to keep it out of the story, but homophobia is mentioned here. But just mentioned and while it does have an impact, it is relatively mild. I do hope that it doesn't sour your reading experience.
> 
> With that being said, you're good to go. I'd love to know your thoughts on the story and welcome your feedback.   
> And now, please enjoy the read. :)

They live in a bustling city with tons and tons of people. Sometimes Reese feels small and invisible in it, like he might just disappear if he is not careful. But then, his parents take his hands and they cross the street and he remember, that there is no way he could ever disappear or vanish. He looks up to his Tōsan and gets a reassuring smile in return and when he looks up to Dad, he sees him watching out, as if to make sure that their way is clear.

Reese is proud to have them as fathers. Tōsan always smiles and Dad is best at reading to him, even if Reese can almost do that all alone as well. But it’s nicer to have Dad read to him before bed and on rainy days, when there is nothing to do. He likes these days best. Days that consist of them simply lounging around all day in the living room, reading, playing board games or watching movies. Tōsan to his left and Dad to his right. Sometimes Dad sits down in front of the couch too and Tōsan lets his fingers glide through Dad’s hair.

Moments like that make Reese feel warm.

In school he thrives. He is good at most subjects. Math, however, is his favorite. Reese is good with numbers and his parents look at him with pride in their eyes. But Reese thinks it’s no wonder he is good at it. Dad is the best at it too and so he helps him with his homework, and they talk about the task in serious tones. And even if Reese enjoys math, he _loves_ art and photography.

Days he can watch Tōsan work are some of the best. They visit different parts of the city and Tōsan takes pictures for his clients or his gallery. Some of the motives are family even but those don’t land in the gallery. In the corridor of their home, the walls are collages of the pictures. Some of them, he doesn’t recognize. The city it shows is as big and shiny as the one they live in now. “New York City,” Dad answers when Reese asks.

From there on, Reese is obsessed with the American metropole. Later, he learns that his parents met in New York and his eyes go wide in surprise. Because New York is in america and america is many many miles away and they live in japan now. It confuses him, but Tōsan smiles and tells him about their move to japan. Reese can tell that there is something left out in Tōsan’s stories about New York, but when he asks Dad, his eyes go a little sad. Misty – Reese just learned that word and he thinks it fits the look in his father’s eyes perfectly. “There are things we can only tell you about when you’re older,” Dad says and pats Reese’s head softly.

That is not the only time Reese hits a wall when it comes to his parent’s past. There are scars on Tōsan’s upper body, on his side and back. Reese knows scars are results from wounds, he has one on his knee too from falling multiple times when he was much younger. He wonders how the scars got on Tōsan’s back and stomach. Dad has similar marks. They are more frequent than those on Tōsan. Another mystery from a life before Reese.

He is fairly sure they have something to do with Dad’s suspiciousness and his flinching or with how protective Tōsan is of him and Dad. Before Reese started school, his parents had a heated discussion about homeschooling. Dad had wanted him to be homeschooled and Tōsan insisted on a regular education.

“We can’t keep him in this house forever,” Tōsan said and made a gesture around the room to solidify his point. “He needs normalcy, Ash. He won’t stay a six-year-old forever and then, he needs contact to more people than us.” Dad glared, his green eyes cold. “I never had any problems with it,” He insisted and huh, that was new information for Reese. Dad was homeschooled as a child.

They argued some more then, until they finally noticed Reese eavesdropping. Reese knows for a fact, that he was not supposed to hear any of that, judging by the look in his fathers’s eyes. Shock in Dad’s regret in Tōsan’s. And by the way they switched to speaking English instead of Japanese. Dad just slips into his mother language when he is angry or upset.

The topic was settled then and never mentioned again. He starts school normally, Dad letting him go with a tight-lipped smile and Tōsan with a genuine one and hands over his bento box to him.

That night however, he wakes up crying. Going to school made him undergo a lot of stress and so many new faces were overwhelming. He crawls out of bed and shuffles down the hall to his parent’s room. Quietly, he peeks his head into it. One bedside lamp is still on and dimmed. Tōsan is already asleep, head on Dad’s chest and Dad is still reading, glasses atop his nose. He pushes them up and scrunches his nose a little. “Hey bud,” He calls out softly and Reese is not even surprised that he noticed him.

He trudges into the room and pats over to the bed. After crawling onto it, he is quiet, but Dad sees the tear tracks on his cheeks and his red eyes and his snotty nose. Without a word, he is offered a tissue and Reese blows his nose and wipes at his eyes. Dad has put his book away and offers him the place next to him. Reese settles down on his father’s right side and curls into it.

“Nightmare, hm?” It is phrased like a question, but Reese knows that it’s obvious. He nods anyways. Dad hugs him and Reese is glad to be his son then. To others, outside of their family, Dad is less warm and not welcoming at all. People who don’t know him must think he dislikes every single one of them, but Reese knows, that it’s just the way Dad is. And no one could possibly dislike _everyone_ , right?

“It’s okay. I get them too sometimes,” Dad says and looks down at Reese with a warm smile. Reese cocks his head. “Really?”

“Hmh,” Dad confirms. “Really.”

“Is that why you look so tired some days?” Reese asks and tries to show his support by scooting even closer. Dad nods and his smile turns sad and lopsided. “Yes, that’s why. You are very attentive. Don’t lose that, okay?”

“’kay.”

Next to Dad, there is rustling and Tōsan’s head pops up beside him a moment later. His hair is ruffled, and his eyes are unfocused, until notices Reese on the other side of the bed and his tiredness leaves his features. Worry taking its place. “Reese? Is everything alright?” He asks and sits up too, reaching his hand out to stroke a lock of his hair out of his face and feel if he has a fever. But he doesn’t find a fever. Instead though, the tear tracks.

“What happened?” He asks softly. Reese sniffs. “Nightmare,” He confesses.

Without a word, Tōsan scoots a little closer to the other side of the bed, to make room between him and Dad, so Reese can nestle up between them. He does immediately and buries himself under the soft covers. Dad turns off the light until there is only the shimmer of the nightlight visible. It’s warm and comfortable. Tōsan smiles at him in the dim light. “First days can be a lot,” He says and Reese nods. “That’s fine. We all get overwhelmed sometimes.”

Dad places a kiss on his forehead and Tōsan does the same on his temple. “Sleep, okay?” Dad puts an arm around him and Tōsan. Reese feels his eyes go heavy and yawns. Feeling safe between his parents. “Goodnight,” He mumbles and barely registers the soft replies he gets before he falls asleep.

In the following weeks, Reese gets used to school and finds friends easily. They all look at him surprised, when he tells them about his _fathers_ , but ultimately, they don’t really care about it. Reese is glad about that. One time, when he was around four years old, an elderly lady pulled her grandchild away from him, he had played with for a little while already, with a disgusted expression after seeing his two fathers. He cried that night, not understanding the woman’s reaction. Tōsan and Dad sat down with him to explain it to him. _Homophobia_ was the word they used. For Reese it was hard to understand the concept of it, since he had never known that it was viewed as anything but normal for two men to be in a relationship. _“But what is wrong with it? I don’t understand,”_ Reese had cried and Tōsan nodded. _“Sadly, not everyone thinks like that yet. I know, it’s really hard for you to understand right now.”_

It never stopped. Reese never started to understand homophobia. He is glad that he doesn’t and even more so that his friends don’t seem to understand the concept either.

In school, he starts noticing other things. A year later, he overhears the conversation of two older girls. They talk about romance and how icky kissing is. It’s then that he realizes that he has not once seen his parents kiss aside from a kiss on the cheek or on the forehead or nose. Tōsan and Dad are different in that aspect as well. They cuddle, but they don’t kiss. Never. Another strange thing he has yet to understand about his parents. Reese wonders if it has got anything to do with their past as well.

That evening, he helps Tōsan prepare dinner. Under his eagle’s eyes he lets Reese cut the carrots and the cabbage and chuckles, when he tears up while cutting the onions. Tōsan pushes the ingredients into the frying pan and lets them sizzle there. It slips out of Reese’s mouth before he can stop it. “Why don’t you and Dad ever kiss?” He asks and frowns slightly.

Tōsan looks surprised before he nods, turns off the oven and sits down with him at the kitchen island. “Where is that coming from?” He asks his son. Reese shrugs and Tōsan gives him a _look_. “Reese, you know you can talk to me about anything, right?” Reese nods and suddenly it feels like a bad idea talking about it. And he doesn’t even know why. But Tōsan turned off the oven, obviously wanting to discuss this in detail and he doesn’t know if he even wants that. But his father knows he is bothered by something and when he could possibly be hurting, Tōsan can’t sit back and just watch.

“I overheard some girls talking about kissing in school and I realized that I have never seen you and Dad kiss,” Reese relents and looks up at Tōsan sheepishly. His father looks pensive for a moment. “Don’t you want to kiss him?” Worry bubbles up inside of him. Isn’t that a bad sign? Shouldn’t parents want to kiss? He doesn’t know much about kissing, but isn’t it supposed to be something grownups in love do?

“Oh, I do. Reese, we do kiss, but…” Tōsan trails off. “We don’t kiss as often because it has never been of too much importance to us.”

Reese furrows his brows. “So, you _do_ kiss, but not as often?” Tōsan nods. “But why is it not as important to you? Aren’t grownups supposed to do that?” He asks and cocks his head in thought. A small smile appears on Tōsan’s face.

“Kissing is not the only way to show love, Reese. Instead of kissing we… cuddle and we do kiss, just not on the lips. A kiss on the forehead is just as good and meaningful,” Tōsan explains to him. “Is it important to you to see us kiss? Because I can reassure you that we love each other even without a lot of kisses.”

That gives Reese pause. Is it important to him to see his parents kiss as a reassurance that they love each other? No. It has never been. He grew up, knowing that they loved each other, and he never needed any proof of that. It had always been right in front of him. “No, it’s not,” Reese says and shakes his head. “I just… some of my friends have talked about it too and I wondered.”

“I see,” Tōsan says. “If there is anything like that you need to talk about again, don’t keep it to yourself and let it bother you. Okay? I’m here for you to talk to and so is your Dad.”

“I am.” Dad’s voice rings from behind them. They whirl around and Dad gives them a tiny smile. “Sorry, I didn’t want to intrude. But I heard that last sentence. I’m always here to talk to,” He repeats. Reese jumps up and storms into his arms. Dad huffs out a laugh when he catches Reese and hugs him tightly. “You grew up so fast,” He notes with a nostalgic little smile as he holds Reese in his arms. For a moment Reese worries, that Dad will tell him, that he is too big to be picked up for hugs already, but he hears Dad chuckling. “Seems like I’ll have to double up my training.” He grins a little and Reese beams at him, hugs him even tighter.

Tōsan sits back for a moment, gives them the moment, and goes back to cooking.

Later and over dinner, they talk like they do every evening before bedtime. Dad teases Tōsan and Tōsan teases back. They tease Reese softly and Reese teases back. Tōsan’s cooking is brilliant and they tell him so, making a proud little smile appear on his face. When they are done, Dad takes the dishes into the kitchen and cleans them. He hands them over to Reese who dries them. That same week, another photo is added to the collage in the hall.

Reese standing on a little stool, to enable him to reach the counter, Dad grinning down at him proudly.

Right before Reese needs to go to bed, he brushes his teeth and when he comes back into the living room, he catches his parents kissing. It seems foreign, but they start laughing right after, pointing at a picture in an album open between them on the couch. That’s the first time, Reese sees his parents share a kiss. He wonders if it has got something to do with the fact that he talked to them about it, but it doesn’t matter now.

He lets them know he is there by walking a little louder than necessary. They look up at him and smile. “We found the pictures of the day we picked you up at the hospital,” They tell him and point at the photograph. Reese gets close to the couch and takes a look at the picture. Tōsan’s hair looks even messier than normal, just like Dad’s, as if they had just gotten out of bed in a hurry. There are tears in both their eyes as they gaze down at the bundle in Dad’s arms. “The best day of my life,” Dad says and looks at him seriously. “We have never been happier than in that moment you became a part of us.” Tōsan nods and smiles.

They show him every day how much they love him, but sometimes it’s good to hear it out loud. Reese climbs over the backrest of the couch between them, careful of the photo album.

That night, Reese stays up way past bedtime. Together, they look at all the pictures in the album. Ones with Reese and without. His parents have a story for each photo, though they cut them all short. His eyes get tired faster than he can comprehend and there is still so much to see, however, sleep gets him before he can fight against it.

Ash carries their son into his bedroom, Eiji watches from the doorway. Reese doesn’t wake up. He sleeps like a rock and that has Eiji looking between father and son with a quiet chuckle. With a raised eyebrow, Ash turns around to look at him. Eiji waves his hand with a little grin. After shutting Reese’s bedroom door quietly, they walk into the kitchen and put away the dishes they used in comfortable silence. It doesn’t take them long and afterwards, they sit down on the couch again.

Both have books in their hands and they read until even their bedtime has arrived. They get dressed in pajamas and brush their teeth. Ash is done first and slings his arms around Eiji’s middle, letting his chin rest on his husband’s shoulder. Eiji smiles a little and leans his head agains Ash’s for a short moment before resuming the task of brushing his teeth.

But even when Eiji is done, they stay in the position. Eiji lets his hand wander up to Ash’s nape and lets his fingers play with the blonde locks. Ash sighs contented and snuggles closer. They move the snuggling to bed and Eiji turns in Ash’s arms, hand still running idly through Ash’s hair.

“I’m the luckiest man in the whole universe,” Whispers Ash into the juncture between Eiji’s shoulder and his neck. Eiji lets his arms fall from Ash’s neck to encircle him in a hug instead. It makes Eiji’s heart bloom when he thinks about the fact, that he is one of the only people who get to see Ash so unguarded. “And Reese and I are the luckiest two in the universe to have you. I am the luckiest Ash.”

“Eiji,” Ash whispers and lifts his head to gaze into Eiji’s eyes. “Forever?” Eiji cups Ash’s cheek softly, asking for permission with his eyes before placing a kiss against Ash’s lips. Resting their foreheads against the other’s. “Forever and beyond.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading and have a wonderful day! <3


End file.
